


i don't wanna fall asleep just yet

by two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, F/F, Gen, Grief, Mourning, Post-Season/Series 03, glimmadora if you squint, mentions of eating disorders, mentions of insomnia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 22:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20454308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat/pseuds/two_drama_nerds_in_a_boat
Summary: Glimmer mourns the loss of her mother after Angella flies into the portal.Rated Teen for mentions of insomnia, eating disorders, and major character death (Angella's not confirmed dead in canon, but Glimmer and everyone else has assumed her to be dead).





	i don't wanna fall asleep just yet

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this ended up being really sad - I was planning on writing an uplifting fic but ended up with just angst. There's not a lot of Glimmadora in this, just sort of implied feelings.
> 
> Please leave a comment if you're curious about podficcing or translating this work, and I will get back to you with details ASAP.

Glimmer isn’t really sure what to do. **  
**

Angella is gone. Glimmer’s mom is gone.

Glimmer’s an orphan, now and she doesn’t know how she feels about it. 

(Actually, that’s inaccurate. She knows how she feels. She’s sad. Upset. Distraught. Her entire world has been turned upside-down and inside-out and it’s collapsing in on her all at once. But her body and mind aren’t really registering any of that, so mostly, she just feels numb.)

Glimmer’s never been an orphan before. This sounds like a stupid statement, and in part, it is. But she’s lost a parent before. For the longest time, it was just her and her mom. She didn’t appreciate it the way she should have. She didn’t appreciate how Angella would be there for her. 

She regrets everything, now. 

She never got to say goodbye to her dad. But she was little and she barely remembers it anyway. She just remembers him going to battle one day and never coming back. 

Glimmer had hoped she’d be able to at least say goodbye to her mom. 

(Actually, she’d never thought much about the idea of her mom dying until it happened. She’d always assumed her mom would be with her forever. Thinking about her mom as a person, someone who wasn’t invincible, someone who could die just like anyone else... well, it felt kind of taboo. So she tried not to think about it too much. 

She has to think about it now.)

Glimmer isn’t really sure what to do. She feels numb and empty and she keeps waiting for her mom to come back out of the portal miraculously, to say “Surprise! I was just kidding, I would never leave you.” or maybe, “Sorry I’m a little late, time works differently over there, but I made it back to you.” or even just “Glimmer, I swear, if you keep being so reckless you’re grounded.”

But she knows that’s not going to happen. 

Glimmer retreats into her room at Bright Moon, and no one hears from her for days. She won’t let Bow in, she won’t let Adora in. She won’t come out to eat or drink. Adora starts to leave food outside her door, in the hopes that Glimmer will have the strength to come and get it. 

This results in a lot of cold, untouched plates. 

Adora isn’t really sure what to do. 

She likes Glimmer. A lot. And she’s wanted to tell her this for a while, but now seems like a bad time. This entire thing, with Angella... Adora knows that it’s her fault. 

(Well, she thinks it’s her fault. In reality, it’s more Catra’s fault, for causing the whole portal problem in the first place. Or perhaps it’s Entrapta who should be blamed, for building the thing. Or maybe even Hordak, for encouraging it all? It really is unclear, actually, who exactly the blame falls to. But Adora thinks it’s hers to bear. She doesn’t stop beating herself up about it.)

Adora’s never seen someone die before, and she’s never seen someone in mourning before. The Horde didn’t believe in showing weakness, so when someone’s friend died in battle, they would have to hide their emotions until they could go somewhere private to cry. And Adora never even experienced battle, not until she was She-Ra. And that’s only been going on for a little while. Adora’s never seen someone die. She’s never watched someone get killed. 

She tries to tell herself that Angella is okay, on the other side of the portal. 

She knows it’s probably not true. 

But Adora tries not to think about Angella too much. She’s trying to save Angella’s daughter. 

Adora talks to Bow. Bow’s the one who’s good with people. Bow loves people. Bow loves Glimmer. He’s her best friend. They’ve known each other forever. When Glimmer won’t leave her room, won’t eat, won’t sleep, Adora goes to Bow time and time again and asks him for help. 

Bow doesn’t know what to do. 

He knocks on Glimmer’s door and she meekly replies, “Come back later, please.” 

(It sounds like she’s been crying, and Bow wonders if that’s what’s happened. It might actually be progress. Glimmer’s spent days going without showing any emotion at all. He wonders if sadness, even if isn’t the best emotion, is better than feeling nothing. But Bow doesn’t know. Bow starts to think he might not be as good with people as he originally thought.)

Bow and Adora don’t know how to cheer up their friend. Humor would be making light of the situation, they think. Asking Glimmer to look on the bright side would just be cruel. They don’t know what to do.

Bow knocks on Glimmer’s bedroom door every day, and Adora stands beside them, and every day they get that same response: “Come back later.” It’s quick and quiet and spoken through tears every single time. But eventually, they knock on the door, and the answer changes. 

“Come in.”

And Bow and Adora look at each other and their eyes are wide. Glimmer’s voice is no longer the voice of someone who’s been sobbing, but raw and raspy, almost like she’s losing it. Bow makes a face at Adora, and it’s obvious what he’s saying. 

_Should we?_

And Adora nods. 

_Open the door, Bow._

So Bow opens the door.

Glimmer’s not sitting up in her bed, or in the windowseat, or in any of her normal places. She’s sitting on the floor, surrounded by a mess of things. Adora realizes that they must be her mom’s belongings. Angella’s cape is draped around Glimmer like a voluminous sparkling blanket. 

(Glimmer’s been holding onto her mom’s cape for an entire week. She found it in Angella’s quarters. It still smells like her. 

Glimmer... Glimmer misses her mom.)

Adora walks over to Glimmer and sits down beside her. Glimmer looks horrible. It’s obvious that she hasn’t been eating. She looks horrible. She’s lost so much weight, she looks like a shell of her former self. Under her eyes are deep dark circles. Glimmer doesn’t even look sad, anymore. She just looks tired. 

Bow and Adora don’t say anything. 

Glimmer reaches out for Adora’s hand, and holds it tightly. 

“I don’t know what to do,” says Glimmer. 

None of them know what to do.

But they know they have to keep on living.

It’s what Angella sacrificed herself for.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments/kudos if you liked it.


End file.
